Inside out and Back Again
by MontyBeth
Summary: Two Alteans escape from a Galra prison ship. Claiming to be important to the history of Voltron, they also appear to be crucial to another member of the Team's past - Coran's. (POST SEASON 2, BlackPaladin!Lance)
1. chapter 1

_Inside out and Back Again_

 _Two Alteans escape from a Galra prison ship. Claiming to be important to the history of Voltron, they also appear to be crucial to another member of the Team's past. BlackPaladin!Lance, written as a start to Season 3._

"Hunk, look out!" Keith yelled over the com.

Hunk didn't question Keith's instructions, quickly maneuvering the yellow lion away from the Galra cruiser as it fired again. "Don't these guys give up?" he griped, firing his lion's laser back.

"Not much longer, Paladins." Allura's voice came through as Lance's lion soared into view, taking the side of the ship in it's jaws.

His lion.

He really needed to stop calling the blue lion that. Allura drove the blue lion now, at least after the black lion had chosen him. Coran's cheery voice amidst all the chaos reminded him of that too. Coran piloted the castle now. Allura piloted the blue lion. And he piloted the black.

Lance could remember when it had happened. Everyone was so sure Keith was supposed to be the leader now. After all, Keith had quietly recalled the story of when he and Shiro were on that planet, after they'd been separated in the wormhole jump.

"Pidge, you're still shielded, yeah?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. If she and the green lion were visible the massive Galra cruiser would surely have opened fire on them.

And then where would they be? When Shiro disappeared, they hadn't been able to form Voltron for weeks. But they were going to find him, he reminded herself. They would. And then the Black Lion would choose Shiro again, and he'd get back to flying with blue.

Something caught his eye and he pushed aside the memories.

" _Que es esto?"_ Lance muttered. His eyes traced a small grey box as it ejected from the side of the cruiser.

"Lance, you're speaking Spanish again." Hunk interrupted his concentration. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

It was true, Lance had. And it was mostly from communicating with the Black lion. Lance spoke to her almost solely in... well, memories. It was hard to explain, and it really threw him the first time he got in and was reminded of visiting Hunk's family for the first time, feeling welcome but not understood.

Blue spoke in ideas, but Black spoke with empathy. It just so happened most of his memories were with his family, and in Spanish. Which led to a lot of miscommunication, and the resident Alteans being absolutely perplexed that earthlings had so many languages.

"Sorry Hunk. I said what's that?" Lance searched for the box again. "I think there was an escape pod or something."

Then an explosion rocked the Galra cruiser. A torrent of voices filed in.

"Nice shot, Pidge!"

"That wasn't me!"

"Allura?"

"No, I was focusing on the smaller fighters."

"Who just did that?" Lance demanded.

No one replied, and the Galra ship began to swerve, damaged by the blow but not wounded.

Coran scrambled to move the castle, while Pidge tried to use her invisibility to get a better view.

"There is something coming down from the ship!" she cried. "It's heading to the surface of the planet below."

"Follow the pod, Pidge." Lance ordered. "Team, let's try to take out the other smaller ships, it looks like the cruiser is about to jump."

Pidge's lion shot towards the planet below, and the other paladins focused their fire on smaller ships, tearing them apart. The yellow lion bit into three ships, throwing them into another one.

"The cruiser is jumping!" Coran warned.

Lance gunned the black lion, and tore into the three remaining small ships. "We're almost..."

The ship jumped with a mighty scream, trailing debris behind it. There was silence for a moment, punctuated only by quiet, ragged breaths from the paladins.

Then Pidge's voice broadcast over the communicator. "I found the pod. It's damaged, I can't open it, and-" she shrieked a little as whatever was inside of it banged on the outside. "whatever's inside wants out."

"We're coming, Pidge." Lance returned. "Let's go."

"Actually, Princess, we need you back at the castle." Coran stated apologetically. "We need to finish the ranged teleduv-"

"-remote control teleduv." Hunk corrected.

"...and I'm afraid Slav and I can't do it alone." Coran finished.

"I'll be back in a moment, Coran. Paladins, stay safe." Allura urged, before turning the blue lion around and flying back to the castle.

The other paladins pointed the noses of the Lions down, breaking through the atmosphere.

-v-

"Are you guys hurrying?" Pidge demanded, fear edging into her voice. "This thing wants out!"

"We're coming Pidge." Keith assured her. "Just hold on."

"It's just... green is giving me weird feelings. I think she's worried." Pidge muttered.

Hunk's voice was somewhere between teasing and correction. "I think you're worried."

"We're both worried." Pidge admitted.

Hunk took note of this. "Green's still invisible, but uh... maybe we should park the other lions further away."

"There's some trees-" Pidge wondered if she could call them trees. She silently remarked that they looked more like coral and a playground structure had a baby, but nevertheless it was the only real form of shelter out here. "You see them?"

The paladins all affirmed, setting their lions down. As soon as they exited, jogging to join Pidge, they could hear the clanging.

"What's in there?" Hunk gripped his Bayard a little tighter, but didn't activate it.

"Probably another robeast." Keith muttered. He, unlike Hunk, did activate his Bayard.

The banging on the pod picked up. It was a furious pounding.

and then it stopped.

"...wh-" Pidge was shushed silently by Lance, who crept towards the pod. He pressed his ear against the side.

At first, all he could hear was the nervous shuffling of the Paladins behind him. He filtered out them as best he could, and heard something.

"That's a person!" He cried. "Someone's screaming in there!"

The banging picked up again.

"Whoa, whoa- " Hunk shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Person, in the pod, if you can hear me, hit twice."

BANG BANG

"Okay, um..." the other paladins broke into hushed discussion as Lance thought over his next question.

"Are you Galra?" Keith demanded, interrupting Lance.

"Keith, that's not a yes or no question." Lance huffed. "One knock for yes. Two for no."

BANG BANG.

"Are you hurt?"

BANG BANG.

"Are you a girl?"

The entire team booed at him. "C'mon, Lance."

"This is pertinent information!" Lance reassured them.

There was a weird break, then a light tap on the pod.

BANG... BANG.

"Oh. You're a guy."

That same lighter tap. Twice.

"This might be the Yupper again." Pidge muttered.

"Um, can you knock once?"

BANG.

"You aren't a monster, right?"

BANG.

"Okay, that's good." Lance concluded. "We're gonna get you out, OK? Hunk?"

Hunk nodded, and began to look around the pod. The sliding doors were bent to not be able to open, and it was severely scorched. "I'd just need something to pry it with." he concluded.

There was a moment before Keith realized Hunk was looking at him.

Or more accurately, his sword.

"No way." he argued. "You could break it."

"I can't hold your Bayard without it deactivating." Hunk reminded him. "Lance can do blue and black, but I can't do two colors, dude. You'd be the one prying it."

Lance _could_. When he held Shiro's Bayard- _his_ Bayard - for the first time, it had fired up. And so had the blue one he was still holding. The blue one - he was handing it to Allura - turned into the rifle he was so used to holding, and the black? Some sort of cross bow. It looked awesome, but not useful for prying doors.

Keith shook his head.

"Keith, that thing has survived worse than a pod." Pidge reminded him.

Sighing, Keith moved to do just that. "If this pod turns out to have a sentient robeast in it-" he shoved the sword into the crack. "I am killing it and then all of you." the doors slid open.

Immediately they were met with muffled exclamations. Packed inside the pod were two people, a girl and a boy. They appeared to be around the height of Lance, but since they were crouching he couldn't tell.

Clad in the typical purple and black uniform of Galra prisoners, their hands were cuffed behind them. They also had thick black rags wound around most of their faces, and presumably gagged with them as well, leaving only their eyes.

And what eyes. The girl's were deep blue, and were steeled against them. The boy's were a dark grey.

"Hey!" Lance stepped forward, pushing Keith back as he went. "We're here to- OOF!" The girl ran and shoved her shoulder into him, knocking him over. She turned expectantly to the boy.

He shook his head, and sat down.

She paused, as if shocked by the sudden turn of events. Keith took the opportunity to grab her around the neck. It was quite a feat, since she stood a few inches above him. He pressed his sword to her throat, and she made a muffled scream.

"I'm gonna take these rags off. And you better tell us what you're doing." he hissed.

Lance got up, holding his stomach. "We just rescued you!"

Keith, still holding the Bayard to her throat, reached up to unwind the rags around the girl's head. He saw a head of light orange hair, cut in a ragged bob. But what the other Paladins, looking to Keith, saw, was something else.

The dark pink markings, beneath her eyes. And the pointed ears.

"You're Altean!" Pidge gasped.

She struggled against Keith, muttering something. Keith untied her gag hesitantly.

She spoke harshly, in an accent like Allura or Coran. "What are you doing in the armor of the Voltron paladins?" she demanded. "Who are you?"

"We're the paladins." Lance responded. "And we just saved your butt. And his-" he pointed to the boy still waiting silently in the pod, cross legged on the floor. "Whoever he is."

"You're not the Paladins. Where's the blue paladin, then?" She demanded.

"I'm right- she's back at the castle." Lance flubbed. _Black paladin._ He reminded himself.

"Her? King Alfor, you mean? Look, fake red paladin, let me do. My hands are already restrained." she insisted.

Hunk shrugged his shoulders. "She did take out Lance, dude, even without her arms."

Keith didn't budge. "Shouldn't someone keep an eye on him?" he gestured to the boy, who was quietly watching it all.

"I think it's beyond that." she muttered.

"What's that supposed to m-" The paladins turned in shock as the Green lion's shield lowered. The boy, with some difficulty, stood, exited the pod and turned to face Green.

He bowed.

And to the surprise of everyone else, the Green Lion roared.

Keith lowered his Bayard, as the boy now turned to him. He walked forward, standing before him.

"He wants you to take off his rags too." The girl suggested. "My hands are kind of busy."

Pidge held out her bayard. "Here, I can probably get those." She cut the girls cuffs, and she rubbed her wrists.

Keith unwound the boy's rags as well. His hair was short, bright orange, and the light blue marks under his eyes testified he was Altean as well.

He spoke. "My name is Garrett. You've met Gale." He then focused specifically on Pidge. "And I'm the Green Paladin. My question is, who are you?"

Pidge sputtered over her words. "I... I'm the green paladin! I mean, you clearly just did something to Green there, so I don't think you're lying but- you might have been the original pilot? And I'm the new one?" she fidgeted her fingers.

"New paladins?" Garrett looked to Gale, then back to Pidge. "King Alfor must have thought we died." he said sadly. "Zarkon took us captive when he tried to seize Voltron."

"Zarkon took the green lion into his ship." Continued Gale. "Garrett was unconscious, but I managed to fight for a while. At least until one of his Galra friends shot me. Garrett and I woke up in a cell just a few spicolians ago. We've been trying to escape since."

Keith shook his head. "That was 10,000 years ago."

"Yeah, and we took down Zarkon." Hunk added.

Gale stood a little closer to Garrett. "10,000 years?" she asked. "We must've been put into cryo-sleep." She shook her head. "That means everyone's gone. Mother, father... the little ones."

"I'm sure they never forgot us." Garrett said simply. Gale stared at her feet. Pidge took the opportunity to use her Bayard to slice Garrett's cuffs.

"I still don't understand how the Green Lion bonded with you." Garrett's grey eyes locked with Pidge's light brown. "When I was still alive."

"Maybe Allura could explain." Hunk suggested.

"Princess Allura?" Gale blinked. "She hasn't..."

"Allura's the blue Paladin now." Lance offered. "Did you know her?"

"Well of course." Gale replied. "I was a part of team Voltron too, even if I didn't fly a lion. Every little girl on Altea wanted to be her." she smiled. "Then it's settled. You're taking us to see Princess Allura."

Lance nodded. "Yeah. You could ride in my lion if you want." he offered, extending a hand to her in what he hoped was a flirty move.

Gale didn't take his hand, but did pat it sort of apologetically. "I'm sorry for rushing into you with my shoulder." She smiled, and her face turned a little pink.

"I'll ride with Green. It's been too long." Garrett began to walk towards the green lion. Pidge just stared, her mouth open slightly. She was a little dazed by Garrett's directness.

"Okay." She shrugged. "I guess that's happening."

-v-

Keith stood by Hunk as the other two paladins took Garrett and Gale to their lions. "I don't like this." Keith muttered.

"I dunno, dude. I mean, Garrett and the green lion? He could be the actual Green Paladin. The old one, I mean. Allura never told us about the other paladins. Gale just dropped that King Alfor was the blue, how weird is that?" Hunk and Keith started to their lions as well, a few steps behind Lance and Gale.

-v-

"I was so sure you were scavengers, and then when I saw the armor, I... panicked." Gale was apologizing still, although at this point it seemed more like excuses. Not that Lance minded. He usually was the one scrambling to fill silences. They made him nervous.

Plus, he was watching Gale as she spoke. It wasn't that she was pretty, she was worse for wear actually. Her hair looked like it had been cut herself without a mirror. And especially not in shapeless Galra prisoner clothes.

She just reminded him of someone.

-v-

The ride to the castle for Pidge was painful. Garrett stayed towards the back of green, muttering things and letting machinery. Pidge felt like he was talking about her. To her lion.

Old paladin or not, Green chose her.

-v-

Lance hailed Allura through the radio. "Hey Allura? We found who was in that pod. Get this: Alteans."

"What?"

-v-

The paladins intercepted the princess in the hangar. As Garrett and Gale defended from the black and green lions, Allura felt her eyes shoot open. She turned to the nearest paladin, which happened to be Hunk. "Go get Coran." she whispered.

"Gale! Garrett!" she ran to them, a smile stretching across her face. She flung her arms around Gale's neck, and the taller girl hugged her back. "You need to explain everything, I need to explain everything... just wait, someone..."

"No." Coran's voice came from behind the paladins, soft and shaky. "No, it can't be."

Gale's hands flew to her mouth. Garrett wrapped an arm around her waist. Tears pricked at both of their eyes.

"Dad?" Gale whispered, as tears rolled down her face. "It's really us."

Coran sprinted. He ran faster than he had in all his life, faster than when the Galra were attacking. Faster than when he thought he'd lost his kids. And he grabbed them both. He hugged them close, sobbing into their shoulders. And they held him.

"Not a Quintant has gone by where I didn't think of you two," he insisted. "I thought you were gone, I thought I'd lost you."

The Paladins watched silently. It settled guiltily on each of them. None of them had thought to ask Coran about his life before the end of Altea.

"Dad, it is us, we're okay." Gale smiled through tears, wiping away at some of them.

Garrett added, in a solemn voice: "But we've got bad news."

 **(A/N: whoop! first chapter done. I hope you liked it, and be sure to leave a review! Coran was such a great space uncle that I needed to give him kids. And consequently write some angst about it. That part, my friends, comes soon. :0 )**


	2. Chapter 2

_Inside_ _Out and Back Again_

Chapter 2

 _"We're never going to beat him unless we get the red Lion back!" Gale's voice was frantic, and she had her skirt bunched up in her hands. "The other Paladins are all going to die!"_

 _Coran took his daughter's shoulders. "No. We'll defeat Zarkon." He gave her a smile. "So you've got to be strong. For me, and Garrett, and King Alfor. We'll get it back."_

 _She shook her head. "I'm not a child anymore. I know what Zarkon can do with a Lion. He'll torture Red until he forces a bond."_

 _"What are you suggesting, Gale?" he asked softly._

 _"The red Lion trusts me enough. If Garrett took me out in Green, I could get to her. I could bring her back."_

 _"That's incredibly dangerous, Gale! There's no way I could let you do that!"_

 _"The Red Paladin has fallen. We don't have another choice."_

-v-

"Prince Lotor." Garrett said the name slowly. It wasn't quite respect, but it was a little more than disgust. "He's Zarkon's heir, and if what the Black Paladin said was true, Prince Lotor may already be on the throne."

"Lotor? I can't imagine him running an empire." Allura deadpanned.

"Wait, Zarkon has a kid?" Lance interjected. "And my name's Lance." he added to Garrett, who didn't seem terribly interested in this information.

"Yes. I met him a few times, before the war. He was selfish, conceited... generally he just acted like a child." Allura said.

"In many ways, Princess, he's still a destructive child. And we're his playthings." Garrett's eyes steeled, and his lips pressed into a thin line. Gale nodded slowly.

"What did he do to you?" Coran demanded.

They both fell silent. Garrett began to shake, and Gale took his hand. She rolled up the sleeve on his right arm, before doing the same to her own.

There, branded across pale skin, were the words "Property of the Galra Empire."

"They branded us," she choked out. "While we were in cryo-sleep. Garrett was awake for his."

Fury flashed in Coran's eyes.

 _King Alfor, wounded,_ _watched with concern as Gale boarded the Green lion. She looked back. "We're both pretty stubborn." she assured him. "I can get her to come back."_

 _"Tell dad not to worry."_

-v-

"Do you think we could find Gale and Garrett something else to wear?" Pidge asked the Princess. "The prison uniforms probably bring back some bad memories."

Allura nodded. "You're right, Pidge. Let's see what we can find. Perhaps Gale brought some dresses to the castle. She didn't live here all the time."

Gale had lived outside the castle on Altea. Her mother had been Allura's caretaker for years, sometimes bringing Gale along to play with her. But when the young princess grew, she wasn't in need of an extra watchful eye anymore.

But then her mother changed.

She was angry, she was bitter. Coran's duties left him no time to be with her, or the kids. It was stifling her to be a homemaker.

So she left. The morning of the Summer Berry Festival. She stayed up late, making small sweet cakes for the festival. And in the still hours of the morning she slipped out.

That was when Coran's children began spending some days at the castle.

Allura didn't tell Pidge this. Gale had entrusted the information to her as a friend. Even if that was long ago.

"Is this hers?" Pidge pulled a light blue dress from a drawer. She began to shake it out, as a small "no" escaped Allura's lips.

Pidge froze as she stared at a large bloodstain across the front of it.

"Zarkon sent that back." Allura said quietly. "Perhaps she can wear a dress of mine."

-v-

Keith found Garrett in the hangar. _His_ hangar. He was sitting cross-legged between the paws of Red, eyes closed.

Keith felt distrust boil up in him. What was he doing here? Was Red talking back to him?

"She feels guilty." Garrett turned to look at him. "I only came down to explain."

"Yeah, well you better start explaining to me." he fired back. "I thought you were the Green Paladin. Why are you here with Red?"

Garrett's expression did not change. "My sister and I almost lost our lives trying to rescue the Red Lion. In doing so, the Green Lion was almost lost." he paused. "Your name is Keith?"

Keith huffed. "Did Lance tell you?"

"No." he looked up to Red. "She did." There was silence for a moment.

"Hey, Keith, have you seen G-" Hunk stuck his head into the hangar, a pile of clothes in his arms. He saw Garrett sitting between Red's paws. "Oh. Coran sent me with these. He thought you'd be with the Green Lion. Gale's looking through maps or something up in the bridge."

"I had an obligation." Garrett replied.

-v-

Lance was in the black lion's hangar. He was seeking answers, but terrified to ask.

 _Tú_ _puedes._

You can do it.

Images of his _mamí,_ helping him fill out the Garrison application. He was terrified then too. But she encouraged him.

"Using _mi madre,_ Black?" he grinned at her. "You really want to tell me something." He walked forward, pressing his palm to her forehead. " _¿De que?"_

 _Fear. Fear and confusion._

 _Black was pacing in her hangar. Her paladin had hurt her. And now he was hurting others._

 _She roared. She wanted to find him, to correct him. She wanted to tell him this was wrong._

 _She heard her Red Sister cry out. Her paladin had fallen._

 _She roared again. She threw her body against the hangar door. She wanted out. She wanted to stop him. She had to tell him what was right._

 _"Black lion, you must stop." There was the Green Paladin. "We will find Zarkon."_

 _Out. Out. She wanted out. She needed to get out. She needed to find him._

 _"King Alfor, she won't listen-"_

 _"She's going to tear the hangar apart!"_

 _OUT. OUT. SHE NEEDED OUT. SHE NEEDED TO FIND HIM. SHE NEEDED TO TAKE HIM HOME. THEY WOULDN'T LISTEN._

 _"Noble Lion, I need to shut you down." Then the Blue Paladin was there, the Creator. He was sad, he didn't understand._

 _She was powering down._

 _NO. NO SHE NEEDED OUT. SHE NEEDED OUT! SHE NEEDED TO FIND HIM! OUT! OUT!_

 _She gave a last mighty roar._

Lance broke the bond. He looked into Black's yellow eyes. " _Lo siento,_ I don't... I don't understand. What do you want me to do?"

 _Understand._

She played back his words. He saw himself staring up, confusion etched upon his tanned skin.

 _Understand._

"I'll try." He offered.

-v-

Coran watched Gale as she spun through star charts. Allura had found a spare dress of hers. It was a pale green, with silver bodice and collar. It made Gale look like the nobility she was.

He wanted that for her.

The way Garrett had began shaking, the way tears brimmed her dark blue eyes... _his_ eyes. She always did look so much like him. It broke his heart. And he'd thought it was too shattered to break anymore.

But now, seeing his children before him again, it gave him new life.

"So, what is it you're looking for, sweetheart?" he crossed his arms. "You've been scrolling through star charts for almost half a varga."

"I was hoping I'd recognise something." She admitted. Her eyes scanned her starry surroundings. "But I don't."

"Gale, you need to rest. I've only just got you back, and already you're back at work." he chuckled. "Why don't we see if I can't find you a room."

"Just... a little longer." she insisted. "I want to help."

"I know you do, but-" Coran's objections were cut short by Garrett's arrival. Garrett had changed into his old casual clothes, a green short cape-style coat over a white long sleeved shirt and black pants. "Star charts, Gale?" he asked, coming to stand beside her.

She nodded. "I'm trying to see if I remember anything to help us find that Galra Cruiser we were on."

"And I'm trying to get her to rest. You should too, Garrett." Coran interjected, though Garrett didn't respond.

"There." Garrett pointed a finger to a small galaxy. "Arnillion. It sounds familiar."

Gale nodded enthusiastically. "It does! Arnillion, there must be something there!"

Coran smiled. "Alright, I'll have Pidge look into it tomorrow. For now, you two need to rest."

"Pidge?" Garrett demanded.

"The Green Paladin." Coran replied. "Ah, she's almost as talented as you two were as children."

"Almost?" Garrett's voice became dangerous. It didn't leave the volume he always spoke in, but it held a hint of sharpness. "Everything I've observed about this _Pidge_ shows she's unfit to pilot the Green Lion. I have no idea why she chose her."

Coran seemed taken aback. "There's a lot of things you don't know about this team." he responded.

"How about that I don't know how it's together?" Garrett fired back. "The bond between members is frayed. I spoke with the Red Lion today and there's enough hidden resentment in her _Keith_ towards the Black Paladin it's manifesting in her!" Garrett's eyes - his mother's eyes - were cold metal. He was furious.

She had been furious. The fights before the Juniberry festival. The guilt he felt. They came flooding back to him. Those same eyes, wide and scared, asking where she was.

Those same eyes, full of fear, telling him he'd been captured by Zarkon. The feed cutting out, Gale's screams, the bloodied dress, the bloodied armor -

He shook his head slightly. Those memories were not permitted anymore.

"Teams go through trials, Garrett. This team knew different circumstances than yours." Coran replied softly.

"Here's something else I don't know. Why didn't you look for us?" he demanded. "There was no evidence we had died."

And with that, he left, leaving Coran and Gale alone.

Gale pressed a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry," she stammered. "I didn't think he'd..."

Coran enveloped her in a hug. "It's not your fault, Gale. You've always felt so responsible for him, but it's not your fault, I promise."

Silently he added: _It's mine._


	3. Chapter 3

_Inside Out and Back Again_

 _chapter 3_

 _There was anger in her paladin, and the Black Lion did not like it._

 _It wasn't the righteous anger she was accustomed to, it was bitter and it was hurt and it was revenge._

 _She sent him questions. She sent him his memories, when he was learning to pilot and couldn't understand. Times when the Altean writing blurred from frustrated tears and he swore in Galra._

 _He answered none of them._

Lance sat up, breathing heavily. The Black Lion was in his dreams now. He ran his hands through his hair. It was getting too long, he needed to cut it, but how did you find a hairdresser in space?

Right. The Black Lion.

She had shared Zarkon's memories with him. He was frustrated, he felt betrayed, he felt hurt, he was angry.

He understood. He got it, Zarkon was angry and he took over the universe. But why did he need to know this?

"Ugh, _que quieres?_ " he demanded, out loud. "I'm trying to understand! But I don't!"

The Black Lion purred in the back of his mind.

-v-

"Garrett was right," Pidge announced, cross checking the star charts with known Galra locations. "There's an entire base there."

"Then that's where we're going." Allura confirmed.

"There were a lot of good people on board, and we can save them." Gale's hands curled into excited fists. "Garrett and I could lead a team," she explained.

"I want to be on her team." Lance chimed in, inching closer with a grin and cocked eyebrows.

"Yeah, me too." Pidge added, glancing at Garrett out of the corner of her eye. He seemed angry today. Unless this was his typical demeanor, and yesterday was the outlier factor. She really would prefer Gale.

"No. If I lead a team, the Green Paladin will be with me." Garrett demanded.

"No one will be leading any team until we understand what's down there." Allura returned.

"The Princess is right." Coran affirmed. "You two can only give us spotty information, and I can't risk losing our entire team over it."

 _He couldn't risk losing them again._

Pidge raised a hand. "I could try to intercept video feeds. We wouldn't have to go on the ship at all, just nearby enough to pick up a signal."

"Excellent idea, Pidge." Allura decided. "You and Keith will go. The red Lion is the fastest."

Coran swore he could see Garrett deflate.

He didn't feel like the Garrett he raised. Something had changed him, the time in the prison, the feelings of abandonment, or the branding... Gale hadn't told him what had happened in the prison beyond that, and it made his blood boil to think about it.

-v-

 _"Excellent shot, my boy!"_

 _He didn't think as the words left his mouth._

 _"Coran, I'm a girl, remember?" Pidge laughed over the com a little._

 _"Of course. I just... it slipped my mind."_

-v-

"Coran, we need to talk." Allura's hands were clasped together in front of her, and she loomed over Coran, who had his upper torso entirely hid by the control panel he was tinkering with.

"Yes, Princess?" his muffled voice asked. "What about?"

Maybe kneeling would make this conversation less painful? She tried it. No, still painful. "About Gale and Garrett. With them returning, a lot of things have resurfaced."

The sounds of tools stopped. "What do you mean?"

"I'm worried about you, Coran. Garrett and Gale meant a lot to you, and now that they're back, I'm afraid you might feel guilty, or..." she trailed off. This was a bad idea.

"I'm grateful." he pulled out of the console, sitting up. "I'm grateful and I am angry. I am angry at the Galra for what they did, that they took them away, and they hurt them. But I am not guilty, Princess. It's not my fault."

 _It was his fault. He didn't find them earlier, maybe if he had searched, if he hadn't accepted the "proof" Zarkon had sent, with the bloody dress and empty armor..._

"What we do need to do is talk about you, Princess. Any success with trying to work that magic?" there was a drastic shift in his voice.

Allura looked to her hands. "No. Whatever happened with Haggar... I can't manage it again. I haven't been able to."

"I'm sure you'll work it out! If I know one thing, you're stubborn enough to manipulate quintessence eventually!" Coran's cheery voice was muffled again as he rolled back under the console.

"Thank you." Allura murmured. She glanced towards the training deck. "Maybe I should go train with my Bayard." she suggested.

Coran gave her a thumbs up.

-v-

 _It was one of those days. The sky had decided to drop some boiling hot rocks, and although an intrepid adventurer (or anyone who'd forgot to do their shopping) could have ventured out with a shield, no one really wanted to._ _And to top it all off, it was a day Coran had gotten off, and both him and his two small children were stuck inside. Gale had entertained Garrett with his toy Klanmürl family for much of the morning, but restlessness was begining to surface._

 _"Father, you've got to help. Garrett is being sulky." Gale looked up at her father with wide eyes._

 _"I want to go outside." he insisted. "And don't tattle."_

 _"I'm not tattling! You are being sulky and I'm just asking for help."_

 _"I'll tell you what." Coran knelt down by the two children. "Why don't we draw a picture of the rocks outside."_

 _"Because the rocks are boring!" Gale returned._

 _Coran scooped up one of the toy klanmürls lying dejectedly around them. "Well, you can draw some klanmürls out in the rocks."_

 _Garrett gasped. "They'd get hurt!"_

 _"Not if they were clever klanmürls. Since they don't have shields like us, what do you think they use?" Coran asked as he spread out the colors and papers on the floor._

 _"They take shelter, don't they?" Garrett muttered, already drawing a klanmürl cowering under a tree._

 _"Sweetheart, would you like to draw some rocks?" Coran extended a red crayon to her._ _Gale thought for a second._ _"Can I draw a klanmürl being hit by a rock?"_

 _Garrett gasped, and Coran let out a nervous stammer. "Errr, that's not a very nice thing to do."_

 _"I'm not saying I would do it! I love klanmürls," - she held the stuffed family to her chest to prove her point - "but it happens!"_

 _"Why don't you draw a clever one helping a slower klanmürl escape being hit by a rock." Coran suggested._

 _"Alright. But it's going to be a near miss." Gale returned._

 _-v-_

"Du du du, gonna make food goo..." Hunk was humming to himself as he strolled towards the kitchen, almost bumping into Gale, who's distant expression implied she wasn't aware of her surroundings. And she was heading into a wall.

"Hey?" Hunk grabbed her arm, steering her out of the way of the wall. "Hello? Are you okay?"

She blinked, and a blush spread over her cheeks. "Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention!"

Hunk's eyebrows pushed together. "You were full on zombie walking. You were about to go full on into that wall."

Gale laughed. "I really do zone out sometimes! There's a lot to think about."

Lance rounded the corner just then, still clad in his armor. His gaze drifted to Gale and Hunk.

Hunk's arm... was on Gale's. And she was blushing. Lance was losing his cool guy cred to Hunk.

"Whoa, hey guys, how are you?" he said, a little louder than necessary, edging himself between them.

"I was just a little worried about Gale." Hunk admitted, stepping backwards.

"I'm fine." she insisted. "I was just zoning out."

"And almost walked into a wall." Hunk reminded her. "Did you sleep?"

Her eyes turned a little stony. "I slept enough. We're going to take down a prison ship today."

The look in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by Hunk, who felt a ball of uneasiness settle in his stomach. "You're a member of this team now, and we take care of each other."

She smiled half-heartedly. "Thank you, Yellow Paladin." She glanced at Lance. "And Black."

"It's Hunk." he returned.

"Pardon?"

"My name, it's Hunk. And he's Lance. Pidge is green, and Keith is red. Allura's blue, but you know her." he paused. "Like I said, you're a part of the team now, you ought to know our names."

"Thank you, Hunk. Lance." She corrected herself, and began to walk away with quick, measured steps.

"Yeah, something's up with her." Lance muttered, watching her go. "And I bet it's got to do with that ship. Any update from Keith or Pidge?"

-v-

"So, uh... Keith. What do you think of Garrett?" Pidge was waiting for her program to bypass the firewall, and had seen a chance.

"Huh?" Keith looked up at her from his seat at the lion's panel. "I'm happy for Coran, if that's what you're asking." he replied.

"That's not what I meant, but yeah, just forget it." Pidge looked back to her laptop. Still bypassing. Maybe they signal was too weak.

"You're worried because he was the Green Paladin." It was more of a statement than a question, but Pidge found herself nodding.

"I mean... yeah. Green bowed to him, Keith! She's never done that to me!" Pidge ran a hand through her hair. "I mean she nuzzles me, which is terrifying, actually, but what if she respects Garrett more? What if-"

"...what if the same thing happens to you and Garrett that happened to Shiro and Zarkon?" Keith finished.

Pidge nodded.

"Then I will personally escort you to the astral plane to fight it out."

Pidge blinked.

Kieth continued to fly the red Lion in orbit. "The Green Lion chose you, Pidge. So that means that you're the Green Paladin. If Garrett tries to take anyone's lion from them, I won't wait to get to the Astral plane. I'll kick him in the gut."

Pidge chuckled. "That's awful supportive of you, Keith."

"I'm getting weird vibes from him. Gale's OK, but... Garrett puts me off."

"H-hey, I got a feed!" Pidge cut him off, thrusting her laptop into his face. "Look!"

Prisoners. Lines of them, marching.

"This is a prison base. They were right, and Keith... this is the biggest prison ship in the empire! I could find info on my dad!" Her eyes lit up, and she threw her arms around Keith, who stiffened

He eventually did hug her back. "Uh, Pidge. I'm really happy for you, but I need to pilot."

"Oh. Yeah."

-v-

"Do you feel it?" Gale sat on the edge of Garrett's bed, staring at a small, portable star chart. "Something's pulling me to that ship out there."

Garrett looked to his bandaged right arm. "I wonder if they implanted something in us." he stated bitterly.

She turned to connect eyes with him. "No, it's something. Don't you feel it?"

"I guess I do." He shrugged. "But it could very well be a random Galra base. A shipping hub or something. This could all be psychological."

"I don't know." she ran a hand through her hair. "It could be."

They sat in silence for a minute.

"You were really cruel to him yesterday." Gale said softly, scraping the toes of borrowed shoes against the ground.

"He never looked for us, Gale. We found him by accident."

"He thought we were dead."

"Yes, but he didn't have any proof!"

"He never forgot us!"

"He moved on."

"Don't you think he feels guilty enough?"

Garrett didn't respond, but the coldness in his eyes gave Gale her answer: Garrett felt abandoned. And he couldn't forgive Coran for that.

 _Everyone report to the debriefing room, Pidg_ _e and Keith just returned from their mission._

With mournful eyes, Gale glanced at Garrett before leaving. A few moments later, he left as well.

-v-

"We're going in. And we're going to free this entire prison."

 ** _(A/N: wooo! mission time! And I have to say Keith and Pidge's scene was my favorite part to write. "I will personally escort you to the astral plane to fight it out" is my new favorite phrase. Thank you for reading, following and reviewing! Those reviews fuel me, so tell me how much you're enjoying my story. A little? A lot? Let me know!!!)_**


	4. Chapter Four

_Inside Out and Back Again_

 _chapter four_

"There's a guard schedule, see?" Pidge blew up a screen grab of one of the security cameras. "And there's enough of a gap in between when they switch that if I disable the security for a tick or two, they won't notice."

"Because they won't be looking at the radars!" Hunk concluded. "Or, can't you just broadcast a loop of some empty space to their computers?"

Pidge tapped her glasses. "I bet I could do that too. Empty space would be less noticable than a blank one."

Hunk nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, my mom had a baby monitor set up to watch Lance and I during our playdates when we were like six. I used to loop a clip of us sleeping so that we could get in trouble. This one time I tried to put socks on the cat..."

"But your cat already had white paws, he looked like he was wearing socks anyway." Lance laughed. "We were stupid kids."

"Mr. Mittens never trusted you again." Hunk added.

"As intriguing as this story is," Keith interjected. "We really ought to get going."

"Sure, Mullet. I bet you've never even _seen_ a cat." Lance shot back.

"I lived in a desert, there weren't any animals around at all!" Keith could feel his neck getting red.

"Paladins!" Allura redirected their attention. "Pidge, when is the next rotation?"

"About two hours - vargas, I mean." She adjusted her glasses. "I guess we should go suit up."

-v-

As the Galra guard checked the clock, he yawned. Eight vargas, and not a single unauthorized vessel or even a meteorite. He supposed that he should be grateful for such an easy going job, but it got boring sometimes. Especially when the other two console workers were quieter than a dead yalmore. Any conversation attempts were met with one or two word answers.

Thank goodness it was over. He slapped the console as he got up.

"C'mon, team. Shift is over."

"We're supposed to wait for the next guard." his coworker stated blandly.

He rolled his eyes. "There's not going to be some big security breach if we don't wait the extra 3 ticks."

The third Galra shrugged and started to leave. The second followed as well, and the three Galra left.

They waved at the next group as they approached, and the first guard whistled a little tune.

The new group sat down at the console, and logged into the mainframe.

"Huh." one of them said. "Our connection must be slow."

-v-

"...and go!" Pidge gunned the green lion, glancing back at the quiet Garrett standing behind her. Despite being a respectable distance back, she still felt like he was breathing down her neck.

To be fair, it wouldn't be right to make Garrett ride in one of the other lions. The green lion _had_ been his.

Gale had certainly become fond of the Black Lion. Or Lance. Or both. Her eyes had twinkled when Lance offered again.

"Be careful, Lance." she had muttered, elbowing him in the gut. "Or you'll get Coran after you." Her words were an empty threat though, as Coran was currently too focused on the mission to notice Lance's flirting.

Pidge, Lance and Hunk shot their Lions towards the hole Gale and Garrett had made, which was still being repaired, but allowed entrance of vehicles. Allura and Keith held off to fight any drones should Pidge's distraction fail.

-v-

Gale and Garrett paused as they entered the docking bay, breaths catching in their throat.

Hurtful memories flooded their heads, and while Garrett managed to keep his back, Gale felt a few tears form at the corner of her eyes.

Lance put a hand on her shoulder. She nodded at him. "I'm alright."

Garrett pointed towards one of the many doors in hangar. "This way."

Hunk shouldered his bayard, glancing around the room. "Why haven't we met any guards?" he asked. "I mean, I didn't really want to meet any guards, but it's a little weird that we haven't."

Pidge's mouth screwed into a pout. "You're right. This feels like a trap."

Lance fired up his bayard. "Then let's bust through it."

"Too late to go back now." Pidge reasoned.

"Maybe we ought to consult with the Princess," Gale offered. "I don't like the idea of walking into a trap."

"Good idea, pretty lady." Lance complimented, activating his comm. "Hey, Allura, Coran..." He paused. "Oh, and Keith. There's hardly any guards around, we might be walking into a trap."

Slav looked particularly offended to have been forgotten in Lance's call, but quickly checked charts that floated in front of him. "It is too late for an extraction!" he announced.

Coran's eyebrows knitted together. "You'll have to be careful."

Garrett took the pistol out of the holster on his hip, partially obscured by his poncho. He threw open the door, with his sister and the others close behind.

With two shots, he took out the two sentries. "We will."

-v-

 _"Coran, I'm so sorry to keep you late." King Alfor apologized as he ended the call with the Lararrian representative. "I didn't expect that diplomat to keep speaking so long."_

 _Coran gave a hurried smile, shoving his gear into his bag. "It's no problem, King Alfor, I'll just hurry home."_

 _Alfor laughed warmly. "Of course. I know my Allura's waiting up for me as well."_

 _They were interrupted by hurried footsteps. Clad in red armor, the paladin's eyes were blinking with tears. "King Alfor, he's collapsed, I didn't know..."_

 _Coran and Alfor exchanged knowing looks. It was no secret, the Green Paladin was getting old. The stress was getting too much for him._

 _They assisted him to a chair, while he grumbled all the way, explaining he was fine, that young red Paladin was exaggerating._

 _What were they going to do?_

 _A new green paladin wouldn't be easy to find. Bonds couldn't be forced, but he was in no state to be fighting any more._

 _"Excuse me..." one of the castle servants knocked on the frame of the door, and Coran and Alfor turned to look. "Coran, your children are here."_

 _Coran jumped, and Alfor let out a laugh. Gale looked out from behind the servant, holding her brother's hand tightly. Her nose ring proclaimed her entrance into late teenagehood, while her slightly chubby brother was a few years behind._

 _"Gale, Garrett, why are you here?" Coran asked softly, kneeling down._

 _"Something was calling us." Gale replied. "It's weird, but... something was definitely calling us here."_

 _Alfor's expression took on a serious look. "Are you sure?"_

 _Garrett nodded. "It was a lady, for sure. She said I was needed."_

 _Gale looked at him. "She told me to bring him."_

 _Alfor and Coran looked at each other, and the old man in the chair cleared his throat as he stood._

 _"Young man, tell me more about this voice."_

 _Garrett looked a little suprised, but continued. "Kind of raspy, I guess? But not bossy. It was like she was teaching me or something. She said I was needed."_

 _The old man nodded. "Coran, with your permission, may I take these two down to my Lion's hangar?"_

 _"You can't really think -" Coran stammered._

 _"Yes, I do."_

 _"Coran, if they heard her..." Alfor put a hand on his shoulder._

 _"Fine. But be careful."_

 _"We will." Garrett nodded._

-v-

Lance walked down the long hallway, his Bayard resting in his hands. Pidge walked by him, her eyes searching for a sort of access port.

"So... this might be a bad time to share, but how does your lion talk to you?"

Pidge blinked. "I dunno, she uses words?"

Lance furrowed his brows. "Oh. Black... she uses memories. Like, she brings back up stuff from my past, and sometimes she shares her memories."

"Has she ever shared Shiro's?" the words were out of Pidge's mouth before she could stop them. Her eyes grew wide and she clasped a hand over it.

Lance gave her a cockeyed smile. "No. But... she's been sharing Zarkon's memories. Something about... understanding."

Pidge shrugged. "I don't know. Understand how frustrated Zarkon was?"

"Tell you what, Zarkon sure was frustrated when Shiro made such a strong bond with black." Lance murmured.

Pidge connected the dots, as her footfalls ceased. "Oh my gosh." she stammered.

"What?" Lance fired up his bayard, careening back as his momentum tried to carry him forward.

Pidge glanced ahead at Garrett, who was all but ignoring his sister and Hunk. His eyes tracked the hallway.

"I think Black knows Garrett is going to try to take the Green Lion."

Lance's mouth screwed into a frown. "It's Rolo and Nyma all over again." he muttered. "But they got us this far. If Garrett tries anything, I will personally kick his sorry Altean butt to the next galaxy, got it?"

Pidge let out a giggle. "Y'know, Keith said something pretty similar."

-v-

"Honestly, the two of you are killing the mood right now." Allura sighed, stretching out her arms.

"Killing the mood? That's not a phrase I thought I'd hear you say." Keith admitted.

"I learned it from Hunk. And it's very useful in this situation. You and Coran are being unneccesarily nervous."

Keith bristled defensively. "I don't like the fact that they're walking into a trap! Not to mention Garrett- " he stopped himself, panic setting in.

"Not to mention _what_ about Garrett?" Coran demanded.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Keith cursed his inability to lie.

"Keith, that's my son you're talking about. _What about Garrett?"_ Coran voice became forceful.

"I don't like him being around Pidge!" Keith admitted, grateful for the feed from the lion being audio only. He hid his face in his hands.

There was silence over the feed.

"I'm sorry, Coran, I shouldn't have said anything."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why don't you like him being around her?" Coran's voice wasn't harsh anymore, his voice held genuine concern.

"I think he's trying to take Green away from Pidge." Keith admitted.

Coran replied softly. "I'm afraid you might be right."

"But Garrett won't do that. He's adjusting to being back, and he's still struggling to accept that Voltron has gone on without him."

-v-

 _"Whoa." Garrett's eyes sparkled as he stared up at the Green Lion for the first time._

 _Behind him, Gale grinned._ _"She's beautiful."_

 _"Go on, you two." The Green Paladin gave Garrett a push, and he ran to the massive Lion._

 _Gale walked forward a few steps._ _"That's her!" she exclaimed. "She's talking to me!"_ _She broke into a_ _run, laying a hand onto Green's paw._

 _"Well, your Highness." the old man gave a shallow bow. "If I'm not mistaken, that boy is the new Paladin."_

 _Alfor gave a sad smile. "I think you're right. But I wouldn't have anyone else train him then yourself, old friend." He turned to Coran, still staring at his children. "With your blessing, of course."_

 _Tears pricked at Coran's eyes. "I'm so proud of them." He murmured. "Garrett's going to be a paladin."_

-v-

Hunk sighed as they rounded another hallway. "I don't think there's anything, Pidge." he called back to her, his eyes scanning for ports.

Gale kept step with him, one hand clutching at her skirts, the other wound tightly around a pistol. "Is Pidge good with technology?" she asked.

Hunk nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, she's the best. This one time, she managed to create an algorithm map the places the Galra were most likely to be." He looked down at her hand, where white bandages covered her brand. Right. He cleared his throat. "And she's so smart too, she managed to learn Altean, in like... two weeks."

Gale seemed impressed by this. "That's amazing! And what about the rest of your team?"

"Well, Keith is amazing with his sword. Like, Lance called him samurai once because that's how great he is. Also, he's Asian, so - "

"What's an Asian?" Gale interjected.

"Um... nevermind. Earth culture thing. And Allura, well, you know her. She's so confident, and she never gives up on anything!"

"Sounds like the Princess." Gale smiled. "When we were children, we once spent an entire day trying to pick all the flowers outside the castle."

Hunk laughed. "There wouldn't be any left. Did you do it?"

"Of course not! But we picked a lot, anyway." the grip on her skirt loosened. "What about Lance?"

"Lance is really cool. He's our leader now, y'know, and even though he pretty weak for cute girls, he's a good leader. I've known him since we were kids."

"You were saying that earlier!" Gale's face lit up. "You had tried to put socks on a cat." she pursed her lips. "But what is a cat?"

"The absolute best earth animal. I think I have some photos of mine. They're kind of like the lions... well I guess you Alteans must have had lions because of Voltron... but smaller. Like house lions. And all colors, and soft. And they have really cute toes."

Hunk smiled as he thought about his cat, a longhaired tabby. "Man, I loved my cat. I miss her."

"They sound amazing!" Gale adjusted her steps to stay even with Hunk's. "And what about yourself?"

Hunk shrugged. "I don't know. I like cooking, and building things. Pidge, she's more the technicalities behind things, but I like to put it together."

"What sort of things have you built?"

"Well, when we first found the blue lion, it was giving off a signal here on earth. I built a radar to pick it up..."

-v-

 _"No!"_

 _"Garrett!"_

 _"Gale! Hold on - "_

 _"We've lost contact." the wounded Yellow Paladin turned downward and wiped away the blood from the broken yellow armor, only to see it well up again. In this moment, the Yellow Paladin couldn't face Coran._

 _"That doesn't mean anything." Coran insisted. "I'm sure Zarkon has jammed communications." Even as he said it, he could see the way Green held still on the monitors._

 _"King Alfor." Zarkon's image filled the screen, and the yellow paladin jumped. "as well as whatever forces you have left. I happen to know the yellow paladin won't last much longer."_

 _At this, the wounded Paladin struggled to stand straighter in defiance._

 _"I'm sending you a gift." his voice was cold and sadistic. Two Galra behind him held the remains of Gale's dress, and Garrett's armor. Both were bloody._

 _Then the video cut out._

 _Silently, his hands shaking faintly, Coran began doing what he could to address the Yellow Paladin's wounds. The armor had been disintegrated in parts, and Coran swallowed as he saw bone. The Yellow Paladin was strong, but for how much longer?_

 _His children were dead._

 _There wasn't time for a healing pod. Coran stuck another medpak into the paladin, who hissed faintly. So strong._

 _They didn't have many forces left._

 _ **His children were dead.**_

 _The red Paladin was down. Zarkon had the red lion. Zarkon had his children. The yellow paladin was dying._

 _H i s c h i l d r e n_

 _w e r e_

 _d e a d._

 _"We'll use the rest of our power to pull back in the Green Lion." Alfor decided. "Then I'll send them away. The black lion will stay in the castle."_

 _He put a hand on Coran's shoulder._

 _"I'm so sorry."_

-v-

"Pidge, there's something." Hunk pointed to the port, and she moved in to take a closer look.

"Yeah, looks like it. Give me a minute." Pidge connected her gauntlet and began to interact with the system.

Meanwhile, a door caught Gale's eye. Perhaps it was the restricted sign, underneath the sign that also deigned it a storage room.

"Why would a storage room need to be restricted?" she wondered out loud.

Lance blinked at her, following her gaze to the door. "You can read Galran?"

She could. When did she learn that?

Pidge shrugged. "Want me to open it?"

Gale nodded. "I'm curious."

Something was pulling her towards that door. Whatever was inside.

Pidge typed for a minute, and the door lock slid open. Taking a deep breath, Gale pushed open the door, with Garrett close behind with the rest of the team.

What she saw took her breath away, and she stumbled. Lance pushed past Garrett to support her.

It was them.

Gale and Garrett, floating lifelessly in a tank, wires and tubes connected to them.

Lance swore softly in Spanish.

"What's going on?" Garrett demanded.

"I imagined you'd have questions." A voice boomed down the hallway at them. "But I don't really care to answer."

"Who are you?" Pidge demanded.

" _Slavendehoe."_

At the tall Galra's words, something came over Gale and Garrett. Their eyes glazed over, and they turned to face him.

"He's controlling them!" Pidge shouted, shaking Gale.

"Of course, small Paladin. After all, they're mine. Prince Lotor." He paused, waiting for some response from the Paladins. When he didn't get any heightened anger at the mention of his name, he frowned.

"Kill them."

 **A/N: Holy cow i finally got this chapter out! I hit a huge writers block, and finals happened... and Prom...**

 **anyhow, I'm sorry for that huge pause, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it.**

 **MontyBeth**


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